Editor's Note

The Charge

"The U.S. Army doesn't really have any serious alternative than to be
wonderful. This does not represent the official position of the United States
Army at this time."

Opening Statement

The Men Who Stare at Goats is based on the 2004 book, written by Jon
Ronson, about the recent history of paranormal and psychological experimentation
by the U.S. Army. Unfortunately, the film isn't nearly as interesting as that
sounds. It tries to cram in too much information—jumping around between
characters and timelines in such a way that, no matter what you like best about
the movie, there isn't nearly enough of it. At the same time, it also adds to
Ronson's research, inventing a plot to tie the whole thing together. The end
result is a frustrating film that trades a strange-but-true history of
government-sanctioned weirdness for a Hollywood ending dripping with an anti-war
message.

Even still, Goats has enough to
recommend it. It has a supporting cast populated by big name actors like Jeff
Bridges, Ewan McGregor, and Kevin Spacey. The screenplay is full of an easy
humor that keeps its political messaging from feeling too oppressive (until the
very end). Plus, it's a beautiful film. Director Grant Heslov and
cinematographer Robert Elswit make this one of the few recent war films to steer
clear of gritty realism.

Facts of the Case

When we meet Ann Arbor reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor, Big Fish), he is interviewing author Gus
Lacey (Stephen Root, Pushing Daisies) who claims to have psychic powers.
He tells an incredulous Wilton that he learned the ability when he took part in
a secret military operation. When Wilton's wife leaves him, he tries to win her
respect by heading off to cover the just-started Iraq War, only to find that
becoming an embedded reporter isn't as easy as it sounds. While cooling his
heels at a Kuwait hotel, he runs into Lyn Cassady (George Clooney, Up in the Air), a psychic supersoldier
that Lacey told him about during their interview. He convinces Cassady to let
him tag along with him into Iraq. Along the way, Cassady tells Wilton the story
of the New Earth Army—a peace-focused initiative started by enlightened
Vietnam vet Bill Django (Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart). Through a series of
flashbacks intercut with Wilton and Cassady's own misadventures, we learn about
how the New Earth Army was founded, and how its original intentions were
subverted by an ambitious psychic soldier named Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey, American Beauty), who turned the
tables on Django and convinced the military to use the NEA as an offensive
weapon capable of, among other things, staring at goats long enough to stop
their hearts.

The Evidence

All you have to do to get excited about The Men Who Stare At Goats is
to look at the DVD cover. George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor,
and Kevin Spacey? Yes, please! That excitement carries through a first
half hour packed with hushed intimations about psychic supersoldiers and secret
missions. Before long, though, it becomes clear that the movie is less
interested in classified army projects than the audience is. This is a movie
about men of enlightenment trying to derail the military war machine, and pushes
everything else to the side to promote its message of peace.

In his career, Ewan McGregor has played everything from a drug addict to
Obi-Wan Kenobi. His thin frame and skill at acting confused makes him the
perfect choice for this movie (the fact that the psychic soldiers are called
"Jedi" is a happy coincidence). His character, Bob Wilton, is a man
who wants to be more than he is. He decides that the way to become more of a man
than the one-armed editor his wife left him for is to go to Iraq—not as a
soldier, of course, but as a reporter. He fails at that as well, until he meets
George Clooney's Lyn Cassady. "Skip" Cassady appears to be the man's
man Wilton aspires to. He's rugged, a trained soldier, and has a sweet mustache.
It's not long, though, until Wilton realizes that Cassady is less than equipped
for a secret mission behind enemy lines. After a car wreck leaves them easy prey
for kidnappers, the pair begin their real journey—one that plays alongside
the story of the rise and fall of the New Earth Army.

Forget any expectations you may have for a movie about psychic soldiers.
Chances are The Men Who Stare At Goats doesn't meet any of them. What
should be the cool stuff—paranormal training sequences, displays of
psychic prowess, etc.—is kept to a minimum. Heck, the actual goat-staring
promised in the film's title only happens in one brief scene, and though it's
important for Clooney's character, it marks the end of the most interesting part
of the film. I don't want to see goats die, but I did want there to be more
screentime for the weird sci-fi stuff. The movie says that it is based on actual
events. It's no secret that the army has experimented with all kinds of
techniques, and the mission of the actual First Earth Battalion was tied to
Vietnam-era meditation and shamanistic movements. The true story (at least as
based on Ronson's account) is fascinating. I wanted more of that, and less
preaching about the evils of the Iraq War. By the time Wilton and his cohort
subvert the evilness of the evil corporation that suddenly emerges as the
villain of the story, I was done. Not because being against war and profiteering
is bad, but because it is handled in a hamfisted way.

The biggest problem with The Men Who Stare At Goats is that
screenwriter Peter Straughan tries to cram in too much. Too many characters, too
many plots, too many years. Although Jon Ronson's original book deals with the
torture of Iraqi prisoners, the film's focus on the present conflict is a
mistake. The story of Django's New Earth Army misfits is far more interesting.
The quick edits and jumps back and forth between the '80s and 2003 only serve to
waste the talents of A-listers like Bridges and Spacey. Clooney gets the most
screentime, and he deserves it. His performance is the perfect mix of twitchy
burnout and macho man, with comedic timing as understated as his John Cleese
mustache. Unfortunately, he falls victim to the film's final act—a late
twist leaving him without much to do or interest in doing it.

Despite the movie's disappointments, The Men Who Stare at Goats is
often clever and funny. Before the dialogue gets weighed down by the film's
political message, it sparkles, especially in the exchanges between McGregor and
Clooney. The DVD transfer is beautiful, capturing the dynamic color, lighting,
and editing. Detail is sharp in everything but the darkest parts of the darkest
scenes. The 5.1 surround soundtrack balances the voices, effects, and music (a
mix of classic rock and score composed by Rolfe Kent).

Bonus features include character bios, a short collection of
deleted/extended scenes, and two featurettes: "Goats Declassified,"
which tells the story of the real First Earth Battalion; "Project
'Hollywood': A Classified Report From the Set," which is mostly interviews
with the cast and crew. There are also two audio commentaries, one with director
Grant Heslov, who talks a lot about production; and one by author Jon
Ronson—who talks about the real-life events that inspired the book and
movie—that is, in some ways, more interesting than the movie itself.

Closing Statement

The Men Who Stare at Goats begins with a U.S. general running face
first into his office wall in a failed attempt to pass through it—a good
metaphor for the movie that follows. Despite an abundance of filmmaking and
acting talent, Goats sets off on a
wondrous journey but gets lost along the way. Instead of telling one great
story, it tells bits and pieces of several mediocre ones, finally collapsing
under the weight of an anti-war message that is several years too late. That
said, the interesting parts are interesting enough to recommend a rental for
anyone who's prepared to watch this movie for what it is, and not for what the
trailers and marketing make it out to be.